ANS is committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit society.
Explore the many uses for nuclear science and its impact on energy, the environment, healthcare, food, and more.
Explore membership for yourself or for your organization.
Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
Latest Magazine Issues
Jul 2025
Jan 2025
Latest Journal Issues
Nuclear Science and Engineering
September 2025
Nuclear Technology
August 2025
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Inkjet droplets of radioactive material enable quick, precise testing at NIST
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have developed a technique called cryogenic decay energy spectrometry capable of detecting single radioactive decay events from tiny material samples and simultaneously identifying the atoms involved. In time, the technology could replace characterization tasks that have taken months and could support rapid, accurate radiopharmaceutical development and used nuclear fuel recycling, according to an article published on July 8 by NIST.
Jae Ho Yang, Ki Won Kang, Kun Woo Song, Chan Bock Lee, Youn Ho Jung
Nuclear Technology | Volume 147 | Number 1 | July 2004 | Pages 113-119
Technical Paper | Thoria-Urania NERI | doi.org/10.13182/NT04-A3518
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Techniques to fabricate thorium-uranium dioxide fuel [(Th,U)O2] have been developed, and the thermal conductivity of (Th,U)O2 pellets has been measured. Mixtures of thorium dioxide (ThO2) and uranium dioxide (UO2) powders were successfully wet-milled, compacted, and sintered at 1700°C to fabricate (Th,U)O2 pellets. The wet-milling process results in a fuel density of 96 to 98% of theoretical density and a uniform distribution of the uranium and thorium in the (Th,U)O2 pellet. The laser flash method was used to measure the thermal diffusivity of the ThO2 and (Th,U)O2 pellets, and the thermal conductivities of (Th0.655U0.345)O2 and (Th0.355U0.645)O2 fuel were found to be lower than that of ThO2 or UO2 fuel. The degradation of the thermal conductivity by the UO2 substitution is great at low temperatures but decreases as the temperature increases.